It’s not like it was love at first sight. In fact, their initial meeting had been strictly on a professional basis. Luffy was dying, and needed saving. Law was the brilliant surgeon capable of saving him, that just so happened to do some work for the underground. He wasn’t exactly proud of it, but it’s not like he was ashamed either. People needed saving, no matter who they were, and those shady types always paid well.
Law sat on the edge of the bed for a moment longer, contemplating whether he wanted to lean in for a kiss before heading out for work. ‘Nah’ He thought. ‘This time, I’d better not.’ It was very early- 4 AM- and he didn’t want Luffy to wake up. He had become sensitive to Law’s comings and goings and it made the surgeon feel bad every time. ‘Tch. When did I become so soft?’ He eased himself off the bed and bent to grab his bag from the floor. A slim arm snaked out from beneath the sheets and grabbed his wrist.
Law looked over his shoulder, gaze falling onto large eyes staring back at him. ‘Sigh’. He turned around, swept messy bangs from his boyfriends forehead and kissed him there, lingering for a moment. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered. “Un,” came the croaked affirmation. ‘He’s still sleep!’ Amused Law chuckled to himself, straightened, and swiveled to exit the room.
Law hadn’t felt this way about anyone else. Not even Corazon. Sure, he’d loved him. But that was a different kind of love. A desperate love, born of need, dependency, youth. Corazon would always have a special place in his heart, this much was true. But he was gone, and he was never actually his lover to begin with. Just a longing, a fantasy that, even now, cropped up from time to time, an inflation of feelings of closeness to the man that saved his own life and encouraged him to become the man he is today. It still hurt to think of his loss. It still brought him to tears when he dreamt of him.
But then came Luffy. Luffy was special. He was fire and whimsy in a world that had otherwise become rather monotonous. The wild young man had given his life meaning. Before Luffy, Law had always just gone through the motions. He showed up at the hospital, did his rounds. Made his appearance at the hole in the wall clinic, took care of the crooks that showed up there. Collected his funds. Slept. Woke up to do it again the next day. He barely ate, never did anything that didn’t have solid reasoning to it, and while he didn’t necessarily enjoy living life in that manner, he was content.
Until one day, when he arrived at the clinic he was rushed by several people at once, some of them in tears, one of them angry and yelling incoherently. Agitated, having spent the better part of the previous 14 hours in the hospital on 4 major surgeries and 3 minor, he scrubbed a hand across his tired face and practically growled, “Enough! Will someone with some damn sense left in them- just one of you- explain what the hell is going on!”
*****
A tall raven haired beauty stepped forward and stated calmly, “Our boss has been severely wounded. He was trying to break his brother out of the pen when it happened. There was a riot and in all the madness, someone managed to start a fire. Boss was fighting with one of the wardens when he was skewered by a pipe straight through his chest-” Law’s eyes widened in horror at the mention of the mystery mans affliction. “Is the pipe still in his chest now?!” Law practically yelled the question. He started walking as the reply was given. “Yes, it is. The pipe was pulled from the fire to use as a weapon, so it was actually scalding hot when he was impaled. It seems the wound was cauterized as it was created, because he didn’t seem to lose much blood, but I didn’t think we should remove it.”
There were many questions swimming in Law’s head at this point. He asked only the most important few as he gestured for her to follow him when he noticed she hadn’t moved.
“What is your name?”
“Robin Nico.”
“Okay Nico, any medical training?”
“No medical training, but I am well read.”
‘What the hell is she doing hanging with these thugs?’ he thought but instead asked, “why didn’t you all take him to a real hospital? You must have realized this is too serious for this shit hole to handle?”
“We can’t afford to lose our boss,” Robin smiled and finished, “in any capacity. You’re the best surgeon at least in this city, if not the country. If anyone could save him, it’s you.” She gesture around the room, “Even in this shit hole.”
Law thought for a moment. Of course. If he went to a hospital, they would save his life just to turn him in. He couldn’t help feel a bit of pride that he was the go to guy for high and low profile people alike.
“Nico, you’ll be my nurse today. There’s only one other doctor here, and we’re going to need more help.” Robin nodded in confirmation and awaited instruction.
“Has the other doctor already been informed of the situation?”
“He wasn’t here when we arrived.”
‘Shit!’ “Okay,” He unlocked his phone and handed it to her, “Dial Chopper, tell him get here ASAP, explain briefly the situation, then scrub up. There are instructions over the sink.” He lifted his chin in the direction of the signs. “I’m going to get ready and assess the situation.” Robin again nodded and took the phone, taking on the tasks she’d been given.
Law was concerned about his patients status. He hadn’t even seen him yet, but he felt he could rely on Robin’s demeanor and word that things weren’t dire- yet- but would definitely become so once they removed the pipe, but they’d cross that bridge when they got to it. He opted to cut his surgical scrub to 5 minutes. He didn’t want to waste any further time, and figured he’d get him on an antibiotic drip later on to make up for it. ‘Better a small infection risk than a big dying risk…’
After scrubbing and getting his gear on as best he could unassisted, Law entered the room where his patient was being held. It was a dingy room with water stained walls and humming florescent lights. All of the equipment and fixtures were brushed steel- a plus! It was much easier to disinfect and sterilize.
His eyes only completed half of their sweep of the room before landing on the gruesome sight of the man before him.
The slight male patient lay on his side, unconscious but just barely breathing, on the cold steel table that someone had the forethought to cover with exam paper (thank God!). He had on ripped up jeans that hung loose around skinny legs and hips and a buckskin vest with no shirt beneath it, giving Law plain view of the injury in question.
A jagged broken (iron?) pipe about 4 inches in diameter was protruding from just beneath his sternum, the skin around it mangled and burnt in some places, completely missing in others. Just as Robin had stated, there was very little blood loss evidenced externally, but Law was certain that there must be no shortage of internal hemorrhaging with a gaping wound such as this. There was some bruising around the area, but nothing major in the upper area. But when Laws eyes scanned lower, he noted that there was some significant discoloration leading down toward his abdomen. He frowned. There. Was it his liver or intestines? He was fairly certain the kids lungs were safe…
Law looked around the room again, this time searching for supplies. He hadn’t needed to use much here beyond antiseptics, mild anesthetics, the occasional sutures and gauze packing for bullets, stab wounds, and the like. What if he needed a blood transfusion? Could they get the blood in time? Where the fuck was Chopper anyway? The doctor swayed on his feet momentarily before regaining his composure. He moved to keep himself awake and alert.
Grabbing the crash cart in the corner of the room, he started moving gauze and a few other choice items to a separate tray that was near the bed. ‘If my med school could see me now!’ he thought wryly as he continued to go against the grain of nearly every medical book in existence. He was pre-opening some packages to be prepared for the worst, when he looked up to see the young man’s eyelids fluttering open, dark irises rolling around in their captive spaces. “Who…” the breathy word came past chapped blood crusted lips in a voiceless whisper.
Law dropped the items in his hands and rushed over to the tableside. Wanting to keep the boy from moving and causing further injury to himself, he crouched down a bit and placed one arm on the shoulder not touching the table while using the hand of the other to gently stroke his hair. He wasn’t sure why, but the guy looked like a tiny wounded animal to him and he felt the need to treat him gingerly. Perhaps it was the giant hole in the center of his chest. “Hey, hey, shhh. Don’t move. Don’t speak. No talking at all, just listen. You’ve been badly injured. I’m Doctor Trafalgar, a surgeon. I’m here to help you.” He studied the flitting movements of the eyes for any semblance of lucidity. The eyes stopped moving and deadlocked with his for 2 brief seconds. In that two seconds though, Law thought he felt his own heart stop. Eyes the color of dark pools of honey, pure and completely trusting, said ‘I’m in your hands’, before rolling back again and closing.
Law stood back up and that’s when he noticed his patients back. The vest was caked with blood and pushed out a bit from the small framed body. Carefully, he lifted the bottom edge of the vest, revealing the other end of the pipe that had gone all the way through the young man’s body. ‘how the fuck is he even alive right now?!’ Law could not fathom it. He expected that it was lodged in deep, but not all the way the fuck through. And they wanted him to save this guy under these conditions? In here? Anyone else wouldn’t touch this case with a 10 foot… well…
Nico Robin entered the room, dressed in full scrub gear, ready to work. “Did you get a hold of Chopper?” Law asked, no pretense.
“Yes, he said he would be here in less than 5 minutes.”
Law checked the clock. ‘Perfect.’ It was enough time to finish setting up and get the anesthetics pumped in. There was no way to do this otherwise. He may not be completely numb when they started working but when they got to the rough part, he’d be fine. Law was pleased with himself for undertaking that 2 year anesthesiology fellowship. He grabbed the vials he’d set aside earlier and prepped several needles. The clinic didn’t have a general anesthesia stocked, so he would have to do his best to perform an intercostal block from above the injury. It wasn’t ideal, but it should get the job done. Thankfully, the vials contained ropivacaine, a fairly long acting anesthetic that Law was fond of and so tried to keep in stock.
Come to think of it, had the spine been severed? What about his spinal cord? His anxiety renewed, Law checked the clock again. Any moment, Chopper should arrive and they could begin in earnest. Law instructed Robin on assisting him with prep. After getting the entry and exit wounds cleaned best as possible, Law began working on the difficult part of getting his patient ready for surgery. They passed needles between each other and worked seamlessly, as if Robin had been there assisting him all his life, and he was grateful for her presence.
Just as they finished with the anesthetic Chopper charged in, fully scrubbed and frenzied. He looked at their “operating table” and freaked out even further. Chopper was a hulking young man, standing at nearly 7 feet tall, with a highly developed musculature thanks to a combination of intense bodybuilding and steroid doping. Despite these quirks, he was quite the accomplished doctor and researcher, though he was officially unlicensed. Because he was unable to finish his residency, due to many family issues that arose at the time, he never actually finished med school, and ultimately decided to run an underground practice after being approached by some friends that needed his assistance. It was a pretty sweet deal for him. He got a clinic and lab, funds for his research, and patients to practice on (and experiment with, in some cases). And all he had to do was take care of the guys who came by his clinic, no questions asked.
“This is worse than it sounded over the phone! Is the patient even alive?” Chopper was practically yelling at this point.
“Better keep it down doc, our patient is just barely unconscious. I’ve prepped him with…” Law trailed off. Would this hack even know what he was talking about? “I got him numbed from his chest down. We should be able to begin operating right away.”
Chopper did calm down and, feeling confident in Law’s ability, approached the table to join the other two in the harrowing operation.
After nearly 3 hours, they managed to get the pipe dislodged and removed. They’d had to carefully remove the skin surrounding the pipe, because it had fused with it due to the heat, and it would have torn off or decomposed anyway, damaged as it was. They would use skin grafts from his thigh and buttocks to close up the hole as much as possible. The worst of it had proven to be controlling the bleeding, given lack of blood and other resources on hand. But thanks to Law’s handy prep work, it actually worked out quite well. And though a few vertebra were fractured, miraculously none were broken, and even more miraculously, his spinal cord had suffered no damage at all. The pipe had entered and exited at enough of an angle, and was blunt enough, despite having pierced through all else, that it merely pushed aside organs, spine, and all as it had traveled through the tiny body. There was bruising, and some hemorrhaging, but it was in his intestines, from what seemed to be blunt force trauma. This kid would make a full recovery.
Law checked his vitals again at the 7th hour, about one hour after they completed the surgery. The patient’s blood pressure had risen back to nearly normal levels, and his breathing was steady. He sighed. Normal.
‘Thank goodne-‘ Law never completed the thought. He passed out on the floor next to the operating table.
What tickled him the most though, was the thought of waking up with his patient tucked under his arm in the backroom. The way it was explained to him was that when the boy woke up and could move again, he wanted to immediately get up and go get revenge or something like that. Since they couldn’t strap him down for fear of him hurting himself, they had placed the young man in a bed with the knocked out Law, reasoning that the extra body taking up space against the rails would leave less room for movement and potential harm. Robin had snickered as she added that they had placed them in a spooning position to keep the tiny man from rolling over onto his wounds. The boss had been easy enough to convince, with Chopper and Robin promising that the surgeon would treat him to a buffet later, if he could at least lay still until Law woke up, but only if Law woke up on his own. This absurd plan worked, and the hyperactive young boss had fallen asleep again while waiting for Law to return to the awakened world. Law hadn’t been prepared in the slightest for what awaited him.
*****
Law pressed against the heat in front of him, nuzzling his nose into soft hair. The sensations felt so real that he must have still been half asleep. The dream had already faded away though, and with only the ghost of his fantasy to cling to, Law kept his eyes closed, not wanting to break the spell.
He draped an arm languidly over narrow hips and felt a tug in his groin when his fingers, brushing over exposed skin, caused the small form to shiver and let out a weak moan. ‘Fuck, that was sexy!’ Impressed with his own imagination, Law traced his fingers back over toned tummy and protruding hip bones. A sharp, labored intake of breath startled him but he continued to lazily explore the tiny body that lay before him. ‘Tiny body?’ The thought crept across his mind only for a second before it dissipated, interrupted by the feeling of barely there grinding against his crotch. ‘Stupid dream… can hardly feel that at all.’ Even still, Laws brow furrowed as he curled his fingers into the dip between pelvis and thigh, and with a firm grip, pulled back as he ground himself into the softness engulfing his arousal. He drew a deep shuddery breath as the sensation suddenly ramped up again. He slid his fingers along the contours he had been tracing until they slipped past the waistband of pants and came to rest on the elastic of underwear.
Law ran his palm over the small bulge encased in its cloth prison and took great pleasure in the slight response he received- tiny bucks against his hand, attempting to garner more friction. “Tra-O, doctor… it hurts… please just finish me! please…” the small voice eked out.
Law’s eyes shot open to discover his small patient from earlier that day (was it the same day?) pressed against him writhing in an agonous mix of pleasure and pain, babbling some semblance of his name while begging him for release. He quickly yanked his hand out and scrambled as far away as he could from the young man before him, nearly tumbling over the protective bedrail at his rear.
“You… I thought you were… I mean, in my dream… I’m so sorry!” Law sputtered, completely flabbergasted at his faux pas. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but please don’t sue me! I’ll give you free medical care whenever you need, so please!”
Law could see his world crumbling around him. How did he end up in bed with a patient. Even an underground guy like him could sue for sexual harassment or… ‘Oh my god. Is this rape?!’ The thought intruded with the subtlety of a freight train and Law’s shoulders and facial tension went slack as he visualized his medical profession being ripped away from him. “…please… don’t care…touch…”
In a daze, Law nearly missed the ramblings of the young man who lay bedside him in the bed. “Really… I don’t care… I won’t sue… so just. Please. Make this go away…” with great effort, the guy dragged his free arm away from its position near his face over to his waistband, which he weakly tugged at with his thumb, exposing his colorful boxers with a wet spot where his erection was straining to break free.
Law felt like dirt for thinking so, but it was one of the most erotic displayed he’d ever seen in his life.
